Matt Appleby - Back From Memphis With St. Jude Stories To Share - UPDATE

First of all let me say what a privilege it is to attend the annual Country Cares For St. Jude Kids Radiothon Seminar in Memphis, TN. Secondly even more so "In Person" as COVID concerns forced our last two to be greatly simplified and conducted virtually. This year we got to gather together to share our love for the cause and learn more about how St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is working to find new ways of "Finding Cures and Saving Children".

We learned how the campus has grown, and continues to grow. Soon a new building complete with 140 apartments (one, two and three bedroom models) will open with the sole purpose of housing families who's child or children are receiving treatment at SJCRH.

This immersive art experience (shown below) was created by ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This allows for our guests to experience St. Jude patient art in an immersive and innovative way since access to the hospital is limited, bringing it to life. While it could be used in the future for patients, it has not been since created by our staff.

• We learned that more research is going into not only cures for childhood cancer but also how brain neurons and stress are connected during a patient's cancer treatments, and how side-effects from chemo can be lessened or even eliminated.
• St. Jude worked in collaboration with other partners under SAFER Ukraine to help ensure the continued care of hundreds of children.

We also met several people who's children were treated at SJCRH or were treated there themselves and who went on to work for ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization that supports St. Jude. Paula Head, who's daughter Carson lost her battle with cancer, went on to become a vital part of the ALSAC staff and works on the Patient Family Outreach Team.

While a majority of the three day event is spent learning, we still have time for fun. You shouldn't go to Memphis without heading down to Beale Street for some authentic BBQ and a celebrity encounter or two. We just happened to run into up-and-coming Country singer Breland!

The seminar culminates in Saturday Night's Songwriters Showcase Banquet which begins with the presentation of Randy Owen's Annual "Angels Among Us" Award, given this year to Scotty McCreery for his outstanding commitment and service to the mission of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

The Songwriter's Showcase featured performances from McCreery, Craig Morgan and Randy Owen.

By the way your friend and mine, long-time WNCO personality Kelly (Sheehan) Appleby will be stopping in during this year's Radiothon coming up December 8th and 9th to share her thoughts on the mission and things she's learned during this and previous SJCRH seminars. #ThisShirtSavesLives #MusicGives